Presentation M1
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That's incredibly beautiful!
m14brian -
If I remember correctly it was serial number 2,000,000Comment
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Thats a lookerComment
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Where is it now? The Springfield Armory?Comment
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Boggles my mind that Congress did not pass a resolution to pay him a $100,000 bonus. Although I admit I don't know all the surrounding facts. I guess he has to "settle" with that beauty.Comment
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In todays dollars that would be over one million dollars. Back in the 1930s and 1940s Congress held the "purse strings" tight. Not like today. It was a much different time and the depression was only a few years prior. FDR did not have a armored presidential limo at the time of Pearl Harbor. Treasury Dept. lent FDR Al Capone's armored Caddy.Comment
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Apparently the rifle was not presented to JCG
Object Description:Title: RIFLE, MILITARY - U.S. RIFLE M1 .30 SN# 2000000 Maker/Manufacturer: GARAND, JOHN C. Date of Manufacture: 10/01/1943 Eminent Figure: HAYNES, MAJOR GENERAL T.J. Catalog Number: SPAR 913 Measurements: OL:110.4CM 43 1/2" BL: 60.9CM 24" 9.5 lbs.
U.S. RIFLE M1 .30 SN# 2000000
Manufactured by Springfield Armory, Springfield, Ma., and assembled in February, 1944* - Standard U.S. semi-automatic rifle with 8-round clip feed mechanism. Select stock and finish. Blade front, aperture rear sight. Muzzle velocity 2800 fps. Weapon weighs approximately 9.5 lbs. This rifle was delivered to Major General Thomas J. Hayes on 23 April 1946.
Markings:
Receiver: U.S. RIFLE/CAL. 30 M1/SPRINGFIELD/ARMORY/2000000. Drawing number: D28291 30. Heat lot number: B10.
Bolt: D28287-12 SA/S-B10.
Barrel: 3-S-A-12-43.
Operating rod: D35382 6 SA.
Stock: No cartouche or proof.
Follower assembly: 11.
Trigger housing: D28290-12-SA.
Hammer: C46008-5 SA.
Safety: SA-11.
Web photo showing Army & Navy "E" Day, 1942. Maj. Gen. Thomas J. Hayes, on right, talks with Navy officer at "E" Day celebrations. Other Army and Navy officers are seen in the background.
New England Minute Man, 02/08/1944 - "SPRINGFIELD, Mass., Feb. 2 - Springfield Armory has assembled its 2,000,000th Garand rifle, it was announced today by Col. George A. Woody, commanding officer. The achievement crowns a production record unparalleled in the long history of the Armory which observes its 150th birthday on April 2nd of this year. Output of Garands at the arsenal in the past seven years has now reached a figure that is twice the total of Springfield rifles made in 34 years, the installation fabricating and assembling between 1903 and 1937 little more than a million of the famous model which brought Springfield Armory wide renown as the home of fine gunsmiths.
The honor of stamping the figure 2,000,000 on the receiver of the historic Garand fell to Norbert R. Bonneville who lives on a small farm on River road, South Hadley, Mass. Receivers are numbered before the rifle is assembled. As the finished component comes off the line, it is passed to the operator of an automatic numbering machine which stamps the figures into the steel with every kick of a foot pedal. A single operator is assigned to the numbering machine on each of the three working shifts at the Armory. Rivalry developed between the shifts for the honor of bringing a famous component into being on the day when it became apparent that number 2,000,000 would turn up. The MacArthur shift won, the figure appearing at 2 a.m. one morning, and the stamping accomplished by Bonneville to the cheers of assembled workers who gathered to witness a historic event.
Final assembly into a completed weapon came later. In the stocking shop selection was made of a piece of walnut with a particularly fine grain. In finishing the stock, master craftsman at the armory lavished upon it all their skill. When the rifle was assembled, they put on a polish with the luster of an opal. A walnut mount was made for the gun and it was placed in the office of the commanding officer, later to be removed to the Springfield Armory museum to take its honored place with other historic arms that have been manufactured through the years.
Wars one after another have thundered over the head of the Springfield Armory in the past century and a half. The peak years of production previous to 1937 was not in the days of the first World War but in the Civil War period. The year 1864 saw 276,000 shoulder arms turned out. The total yield for the four years of the conflict was 791,735 weapons. As for the first World War, production in 1918 was 142,600 rifles, while for 1919 the figure was 201,748. In only eight of the 143 years prior to 1937 did Armory production pass the 100,000 mark. Total output of all shoulder arms at the Armory from 1974 to 1937 was 3,821,743 pieces. Garand production, since 1937, is now over half the entire output of the previous 143 years.
Manufacture at Springfield Armory, however, has not been confined to completed shoulder arms, as huge quantities of spare parts have been manufactured as well as components for machine guns, automatic rifles and other weapons which were assembled elsewhere. At times too, there has been extensive output of bayonets, sabers, swords and sc
Notes: *"Armory documents reveal that '...the two millionth Garand rifle was assembled in February, 1944.' The receiver drawing revision number and heat lot indicate this receiver was produced in October 1943. The rifle was probably assembled at a later date so the 2000000 serial number would coincide with the two millionth M1 assembled at Springfield." - Scott Duff
"Tools or weapons, if only the right ones can be discovered, form 99 percent of victory." - Major General J.F.C. Fuller, 1936
See Duff, THE M1 GARAND SERIAL NUMBER & DATA SHEETS, pg. 39.
References:
Ball, Robert W.D. SPRINGFIELD ARMORY: SHOULDER WEAPONS 1795-1968. Antique Trader Book. Norfolk, Va. 1997.
Duff, Scott A. THE M1 GARAND SERIAL NUMBER & DATA SHEETS. Scott A. Duff. Export, Pa. 1995.
Nicolaus, Eric. RIFLE, U.S. CAL..30, M1: DIAGRAMS & PICTURES. First Edition. www.nicolausassociates.com
Poyer, Joe & Craig Riesch. M1 GARAND 1937 TO 1957. North Cape Publications. Tustin, Ca. 2001.
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Major General Emerson L. Cummings, Chief of the Industrial Division, Office of the Chief of Ordnance (left) and Colonel James L. Guion, Springfield Armory Commanding Officer (right) presenting John C. Garand (center) with M1 rifle serial number 1,000,000 upon his retirement on 30 April 1953 (S.A.N.H.S. photo) [Duff, 1993, page 106]Originally posted by IRON WORKER View PostPresentation M1
Welcome to the Addiction!Comment
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I recall that it is serial number 1 million that was presented to JCG and it is up for auction right now on the Rock Island Armory website.
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Yes, I remember it as 1 million not 2. Anyways, that tiger stripe is beautiful! I wish I had some wood that looked like that!Comment
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This rifle will be auctioned off at the Rock Island Auction being held in early September. For those of you interested, the estimated price is $225k - $375k -- somewhat beyond my means. There are some other interesting items that go along with it for that price.
https://www.rockislandauction.com/de...ation-m1garandComment
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In the event you're interested, the link to the Rock Island Auction for this is rifle is https://www.rockislandauction.com/de...ation-m1garand
The estimated price of $225k to $375k is a bit beyond my means.Comment
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The hammer dropped at $270k.Comment
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Hammer price was 250,000.00 plus buyer's premium..Comment
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